Is this fair of my school and my parents?I am 'entileted' to use extra time in my gcses I hate that word I don't need it and in my eyes it is pure greed if I don't need it and the school just want to say that they have so many people having extra time anyway my parents and teachers went behind my back and entered me in even though I did my mocks and finished early both with a* (for the modules im doing early) and part of this letter I found said to persuade (my name) to use extra time and a laptop I have instructed all staff to pose sanctions on her of the basis or untidy or incomplete work this explains a lot neat work with say a fold in the paper has being scriblled on must be re - done

I think you should just explain to them calmly that you don't feel you need the extra time. IF you got an a* you are obviously very clever and able. Just persuade them. If you can't, i'm sure when it goes into extra time you can put your hand up and say you have done and they will probably let you go!

Extra time is nothing to do with overall academic ability. It is possible to be extremely clever and still be dyspraxic. The whole purpose of the extra time is so that people with our difficulties (abnormally slow handwriting speed, etc.) are able to take part in exams equally. If you have a disability that means you write at half the rate of your peers, or that your attention span is so poor that you need to sit your papers in a separate room just to avoid being distracted by the sound of another person's pen, then it doesn't matter whether you are a D-grade candidate or an A* candidate - you still need the exam to be adapted for you. I'm a very academic person. I got A*s in almost all my GCSEs, took twice the usual number of A-Levels, and went on to study English at Cambridge, but I'm still severely dyspraxic and I have all the problems that come with that.

I think thevaneone's problem with extra time is that she has a good reason to believe that she isn't dyspraxic at all. Rather than challenging your extra time provision, Vaneone, I think you should work on challenging the diagnosis itself. It really does sound as though your assessment was very poorly done (it's dodgy that it was carried out by a friend of your family, as such assessments should always be independent). As you have had lots of frequent school changes, it's possible that your educational difficulties are due to something other than dyspraxia. You've been reading this forum for quite a long time now and you have said that you can't recognise yourself in what other people are writing. Of course not all dyspraxic people are identical, but we do have symptoms in common, and if you can't recognise any aspect of yourself on DT then your instinct is probably right.

It sounds as though the school has a vested interest in keeping you on the SEN register. I have a suspicion that it might be to do with getting some funding. If there's nothing you can do to change their minds, just remember that in an exam you are under no obligation to use your extra time - just get up and walk out with everybody else if you choose. They can't keep you in there against your will. If they try, put your pen down and don't write any more. As you get older you will have a lot more control over your educational choices, and by the time you go to college there will be no way for people to force you into accepting SEN help that you don't need. Just hang on until then.

i wasn't saying that it was because they were clever they didn't need help, i was pointing out the fact that she is clever, and that she is able to do it. I don't think i phrased it as well as i could have!

thank you so much everyone I really don't know what to do but in my modules I am going to just walk out like you said they can't do anything and work EXTRA hard in my end of year 10 exams without extrra time and show them that I don't need it (If I do get a babd mark at the moment it was becasue I didnt revise not beacuse I ran out of time) anyway they can't see that hence the fact I am going to work extra hard. As of extra funding your on the right page, my school is private and has a reputition for being pushy so by saying x% have senco etc it is pratically on their front page

I agree with Vicky-they can't force you to use the extra time-they can't physically restrain you there and stop you from leaving. It sounds very frustrating and I do think that the letter about giving you sanctions for even the smallest problem in your work in order to try and encourage you to take extra time and a laptop is not very fair or ethical of your school.

I do not know your personal situation, so I cannot make any comment on whether you should actually be entitled to extra time or not. What I can say though is that it is always optional and you have the right to decline it. If you state that you do not wish to take it, then they cannot stop you leaving the exam room after the end of normal time like anybody else.

As for the actions to try and get you to accept the extra time, that's another issue entirely. If I understand correctly, then the treatment by your teachers amounts to bullying and coercion, which is not acceptable under any circumstances. My advice would be to refuse to re-do anything that is unjustified and see what happens. If they discipline you for it it then write a letter (or have your parents write one) to the teachers outlining your problems with the treatment and copy it to the school governors as well. If that still achieves nothing then contact your local educational authority with your situation, I believe they still have powers over private schools like any other school, or if not they can pass it on to those who do.

If, as it seems, the school really is trying to pass you off as SEN to improve their appearance; then the last thing they would want is something like this getting public and severely damaging their reputation.

Thank you boing very helpful did this apparently my paper was crumpled asked for anOther sheet and was refused so left It on his desk and came back the Next week to see it marked I think the main thing is that they have dyslexic pupils but none that are dyspraxic and I have seen many times on their website good school guides etc that they cater for and have a dyspraxic student but at the moment can't sAy that o have any help (hehe)

The problem with the extra time isn't that it isn't helpful and it would be wrong to suggest that it shouldn't be offered. But the problem is two fold. Firstly, it shouldn't be assumed by the school that this will solve all the issues a student would have with dyspraxia by allowing an extra time. Secondly, it distracts from the overall effect of dyspraxia and deflects from the fact that it might actually be a hindrance to have an extra 30 minutes on an exam.

I was always allocated extra time, but when you have a three hour exam in front of you, the last thing that I needed was an extra 30 minutes or whatever on top of that. In my experience (and this might have changed in the 8 years since my a-levels) is that schools have no real understanding of the real issues students have with dyspraxia. In my experience the problem with exams was that I couldn't write fast enough and to write more slowly was not practical. Writing itself is not an issue but writing at pace and legibly was a big problem. I felt, that extra time did not address these issues because writing constantly for more than 3 hours at a time was in-practical and borderline painful.

Extra time isn't the only adjustment that can be given to students with dyspraxia. I type my exam papers for the reasons you give (slowness, inability to grip the pen properly, and intense pain in the hand). Some dyspraxic students have a scribe to whom they can dictate their answers. That wouldn't have worked for me (I have pretty bad short-term memory impairments - I often forget what I'm saying even as I'm saying it) but for dyspraxic people who don't have the motor skills to type, it is the best adjustment possible. We're all different and the psychologist who assesses you should prescribe adjustments to fit.

parnassus wrote:Extra time isn't the only adjustment that can be given to students with dyspraxia. I type my exam papers for the reasons you give (slowness, inability to grip the pen properly, and intense pain in the hand). Some dyspraxic students have a scribe to whom they can dictate their answers. That wouldn't have worked for me (I have pretty bad short-term memory impairments - I often forget what I'm saying even as I'm saying it) but for dyspraxic people who don't have the motor skills to type, it is the best adjustment possible. We're all different and the psychologist who assesses you should prescribe adjustments to fit.

I agree with much of that and everybody is different. My point is that, in my experience (again it might be different now) schools need to have a more rounded approach and strategy to students that have dyspraxia. The attitude from my school, which on the most part was excellent, was that the dyspraxic problem would be solved by giving extra time.

A lot of this is down to reducing the issue to a physical problem and there is little understanding, in my experience, of the mental problems that are involved. The point I'm getting at is the assumption that extra time is the key solution. It will not work for everyone. My problem was not with physically writing, but the legibility of what I was trying to say, I could write for 3 hours or 30 hours, the handwriting would look the same. The legibility of my handwriting is severely impaired and harder to read due to dyspraxia. So why is the pressure on the student to write exams that are the same as a non-dyspraxic student. How is that fair?

Surely it would be fairer to have a dyspraxic student's exam papers read by a specialist examiner who is very good at reading poor handwriting? I can't see how that cannot be implemented.

I also have barely legible handwriting (most would call it illegible but my argument is that it CAN be read if someone is willing to take the time to decipher it-most people aren't). For all of my exams, I had a transcript. This is where my original exam paper was rewritten or typed up by somebody in the SEN department, stapled together to the original and both sent off to the examiner. I think this is easier than searching for somebody who has the patience to read very poor handwriting. I have to admit extra time did help me as, when all the others left after the normal examination finish time, I had not finished because of my slow working speed so it was helpful for me but I do accept there are other concessions that can work better for others.

Steph wrote:I also have barely legible handwriting (most would call it illegible but my argument is that it CAN be read if someone is willing to take the time to decipher it-most people aren't). For all of my exams, I had a transcript. This is where my original exam paper was rewritten or typed up by somebody in the SEN department, stapled together to the original and both sent off to the examiner. I think this is easier than searching for somebody who has the patience to read very poor handwriting. I have to admit extra time did help me as, when all the others left after the normal examination finish time, I had not finished because of my slow working speed so it was helpful for me but I do accept there are other concessions that can work better for others.

Good point well made.

I never had that option.

I should stress that I'm NOT saying extra time should not be offered, but it should not be assumed that it's the solutions to all dyspraxic related problems for students, which I felt my school did.

Last edited by jpowls on Sun Aug 21, 2011 7:31 am, edited 1 time in total.

Even though you may feel that you dont need extra time it may be worth to have it, you never know you may find that you need it on the day. I had extra time for exams at college, sometimes i didnt need it, other times i did. when i didnt need it I was able to leave with everyone else